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Kyodo

Tribune News Service

Two US government-chartered planes carrying hundreds of American citizens evacuated from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan left Tokyo’s Haneda airport early on Monday morning.
Evacuees left Yokohama Port at around 1.40am Monday on 10 buses belonging to Japan’s Self-Defence Forces, with drivers in protective suits.
Of some 400 US citizens who were aboard the Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama, 40 tested positive for the new coronavirus, a senior US health official said.
Those infected would not be part of the evacuation effort, according to Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Japan confirms first death of person with new coronavirus
Fauci told CBS news that those who tested positive were “going to be in hospitals in Japan”, and said that “the degree of transmissibility on that cruise ship is essentially akin to being in a hot spot”.
Asked about the severity of the infected Americans’ illness, Fauci said it varied.
“You could be infected and have minimal symptoms, but you still have the possibility of transmitting it to someone else,” he said. “Or you could be infected and have some significant lung disease that would require hospitalisation and perhaps even some serious intervention.”

Fauci added that anyone showing potential symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, would also not be able to get on evacuation planes.
“If people on the plane start to develop symptoms, they’ll be segregated within the plane. So there’s a very firm plan with this 747 that is going to take these passengers now who have been there,” Fauci said.
The US evacuees will be quarantined for 14 days and housed at Travis Air Force Base in California, or Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.


More than 1,700 people have died from the coronavirus in China since it was first detected in the central city of Wuhan, and five others have died outside China.
The US has enacted a temporary travel ban on foreign nationals who have visited China and quarantine measures for its own citizens returning from the province at the epicentre of the outbreak.
In a video posted on Twitter on Saturday, Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz addressed passengers and crew aboard the Diamond Princess and outlined preliminary steps for the end of the quarantine. The information was also shared in a letter to passengers and crew.

Diamond Princess Update:
President Jan Swartz provided a video update to the guests and team onboard Diamond Princess as the Japanese Ministry of Health begins to share their draft plans for disembarkation. #DiamondPrincess pic.twitter.com/cASOUu4zgs
— Princess Cruises (@PrincessCruises) February 15, 2020

“While the final plans have not been confirmed to us, the Japanese government has informed us that they may start a new testing process for guests beginning February 18,” Swartz said in the video, noting testing could take a few days to complete and that it should take at least three days individual test results back.
“So guests who are tested on February 18 and have negative test results may be able to disembark beginning February 21,” she said.
Passengers who test positive for the coronavirus will be transferred to a medical facility, but it was unclear if more screening would be needed for those whose tests were negative.
“We do not know if any country or airlines may have additional requirements,” Swartz said.
Coronavirus: US passenger from Westerdam ship tests positive in Malaysia
She also said anyone who shared a cabin or was in close contact with a person who tested positive may have to restart their quarantine from the date the close contact ended.
But even when passengers are allowed to disembark, crew members may face “a more formal quarantine”.
“I know this is disappointing news for all of our teammates,” Swartz said. “It’s disappointing for all of us.”
She reiterated Princess’ previously announced commitment to give crew members two months of paid time off after their quarantine ended.
“The health and safety of everyone on board has been our priority throughout this entire period while acting under the direction of the Japanese Ministry of Health,” Swartz said as she thanked passengers and crew for their “continued patience in this ever-changing situation”.


Canada, Hong Kong, South Korea and Israel have also said they were preparing to send chartered flights to Japan to evacuate their citizens from the vessel, where 355 infections are confirmed. Currently, the ship houses around 3,000 passengers and crew.
Australia was planning to evacuate up to 200 citizens as well as 11 New Zealanders still on board the Diamond Princess. The evacuation was expected to happen within days, local media reported.
Coronavirus: Japanese tourist may have spread virus to Hawaii
Of the Australian passengers, 16 citizens had tested positive for the coronavirus. Two New Zealanders were also confirmed to be infected, and had been hospitalised.
Meanwhile, Japan’s fifth chartered flight to evacuate its nationals from the central Chinese city of Wuhan arrived at Haneda airport on Monday morning. On board the Boeing 767 were 36 Japanese citizens and 29 of their family members who were Chinese.
A total of 763 people returned to Japan on the four previous flights.
Additional reporting by NZME


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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: 40 Americans on Diamond Princess cruise ship infected, will not be evacuated

US passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship leave for the US on February 17, 2020. Photo: Philip and Gay Courter via Reuters

epaselect epa08222529 US citizens wave from a bus as they leave the 'Diamond Princess' cruise ship docked at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal for repatriation in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, early 17 February 2020. The US repatriated some 400 American citizens who had been aboard the vessel, which was quarantined amid the ongoing epidemic of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. EPA-EFE/FRANCK ROBICHON

Buses carrying US passengers leave Yokohama port on Monday, February 17, 2020. Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Coronavirus: how Diamond Princess cruise ship became a ‘super spreading’ site

Passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess cruise liner are under quarantine until February 19, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Passengers and children stand on the desk of the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as the vessel's passengers continue to be tested for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Coronavirus: 67 new infections on Diamond Princess confirmed

Medical workers leave after tending to passengers on the quarantined Diamond Princess on February 15, 2020. Photo: AP

Coronavirus: how a luxury cruise became ‘a floating prison’ during quarantine in Japan

The Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked at the port of Yokohama in Japan. Photo: Xinhua

Food is pictured on a table at the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as passengers are being quarantined due to coronavirus suspicions onboard, in Yokohama, Japan February 6, 2020, in this picture obtained from social media. Sawyer Smith/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

(200206) -- YOKOHAMA, Feb. 6, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Feb. 6, 2020 shows the "Diamond Princess", a cruise ship which has been kept in quarantine at the port of Yokohama in Japan. Test results show that nine passengers and a crew member on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast in Japan are infected with the novel coronavirus, the Japanese health ministry said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked in Yokohama on Feb. 6, 2020, for replenishment of food and other supplies. The vessel is being kept in quarantine after the detection of new coronavirus infections among people aboard. (Kyodo)==Kyodo

The Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,000 people on board arrives at Yokohama port on February 6. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus: South Korea joins other nations planning to evacuate citizens on Diamond Princess

An ambulance is seen in front of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked in Yokohama, Japan. Several countries are starting to evacuate residents aboard the quarantined ship. Photo: Bloomberg

A bus with a driver (L) wearing protective gear departs from the dockside next to the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has around 3,600 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new COVID-19 coronavirus, at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port on February 16, 2020. - The number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus on a quarantined ship off Japan's coast has risen to 355, the country's health minister said February 16. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Passengers wave on the cruise ship Diamond Princess, as the vessel's passengers continue to be tested for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 16, 2020. REUTERS/Athtit Perawongmetha

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Some 400 American passengers on board the ship were evacuated from Japan on Monday
The evacuation comes days before the required two-week quarantine is supposed to end on February 19



The US has evacuated some 400 of its citizens before the end of the Diamond Princess’ quarantine period, but those infected will remain in hospital in Japan.


Coronavirus: 40 Americans on Diamond Princess cruise ship infected, will not be evacuated

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Some 400 American passengers on board the ship were evacuated from Japan on Monday The evacuation comes days before the required two-week quarantine is supposed to end on February 19

Some 400 American passengers on board the ship were evacuated from Japan on Monday

The evacuation comes days before the required two-week quarantine is supposed to end on February 19